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Positioning
This document discusses competitive positioning strategies for services. It explains that positioning strategy aims to create distinctive differences that customers notice and value. Firms must understand customer preferences and competitor offerings to develop their positioning. The document also outlines four focus strategies including service focused, unfocused, fully focused, and market focused. It emphasizes identifying determinant attributes that influence customer choices and using positioning maps to visually represent competitive positions.
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Positioning
- 1. Positioning Services inCompetitive Markets
- 2. Objectives The importanceof adopting focussed strategies Distinction between important and determinant attributes in consumer decision making Clarify the key concepts underlying competitive positioning strategy Using Positioning Maps to Plot Competitive Strategy
- 3. Positioning Positioning strategyis concerned with creating, communicating and maintaining distinctive differences that will be noticed and valued by those customers Requires managers to understand their target customers preferences, their conceptions of value and characteristics of their competitors offerings Price and product attributes are 2 elements commonly associated with positioning strategy, but also delivery schedules locations play a role
- 4. Focus Underlies theSearch for Competitive Advantage Intensifying competition makes it important to differentiate products In mature market, only way to grow may be to take a share from competitors or grow in international markets Must be selective in targeting customers Rather than compete in an entire market, firm must focus efforts on customers it can serve best Emphasize competitive advantage on those attributes that will be valued by customers in target segment(s)
- 5. Standing Apart fromthe Competition A business must set itself apart from its competition. To be successful it must identify and promote itself as the best provider of attributes that are important to target customers George S. Day
- 6. Four Focus strategies Not realistic for nay firm to appeal for all potential buyers in a market Customers vary in their need, purchasing behavior, and consumption ,are numerous and spread out Each firm needs to focus on those customers to which it can serve the best Focus: to provide for a narrow product mix for a specific market segment Market focus: Extent to which firm serves few or many markets Service focus: Extent to which it offers few or many services
- 7. Basic Focus Strategiesfor Services BREADTH OF SERVICE OFFERINGS NUMBER OF MARKETS SERVED Narrow Many Few Wide Service Focused Unfocused (Everything for everyone) Market Focused Fully Focused (Service and market focused) Source: Robert Johnston “Achieving Focus in Service Organizations,” The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 16, January 1996, pp. 10–20
- 8. Risks and Opportunitiesof a Fully Focused Strategy Opportunities Developing recognized expertise in a well-defined niche may provide protection against would-be competitors Allows firms to charge premium prices Risks Market may be too small to generate needed volume of business Demand for a service may be displaced by generic competition from alternative products Purchasers in chosen segment may be susceptible to economic downturn Rests upon good market segmentation
- 9. Risks and Opportunitiesof a Service Focused Strategy Opportunities Create a portfolio of customers that hedges against this risk Risks As new segments are added, the firm needs expertise to serve each segment More sales effort and more spend in mkt communications Eg B2B markets
- 10. Risks and Opportunitiesof a Market Focused Strategy Opportunities Attractive: potential of selling many services to a narrow segment Risks Need to have strong operational capability Understand customers needs, wants and preferences
- 11. Service Attributes andLevels
- 12. Developing Right ServiceConcept for a Specific Segment Use research to identify and prioritize which attributes of a given service are important to specific market segments Individuals may set different priorities according to: Purpose of using the service Who makes decision Timing of use Whether service is used alone or with a group Composition of that group Eg visit to a restaurant (friends,office,vacation)
- 13. Importance of DeterminantAttributes Consumers choose between alternative service offerings based on perceived differences between them Attributes that distinguish competing services from one another are not necessarily the most important ones Eg air travel - safety Determinant attributes determine buyers’ choices between competing alternatives Service characteristics that are important to purchasers Customers see significant differences between competing alternatives on these attributes Eg within aircraft, convenience/food service etc
- 14. Establishing Service Levelsand Tiers Need to make decisions on service levels—level of performance firm plans to offer on each attribute Eg speed, hours of service, size of hotel room Segment customers according to willingness to trade off price versus service level Service tiering: Positioning strategy based on offering several price-based classes of service concept
- 15. Examples of ServiceTiering in Different Industries
- 16. Positioning Distinguishes aBrand from Its Competitors
- 17. Four Principles ofPositioning Strategy Must establish position for firm or product in minds of customers Position should be distinctive, providing one simple, consistent message Position must set firm/product apart from competitors A company cannot be all things to all people—must focus its efforts Jack Trout
- 18. Principles of Positioning What does our firm currently stand for in the minds of current and prospective customers? What customers do we serve now, and which ones would we like to target in the future? What is value proposition and target segment for each of our current service offerings? How do our service offerings differ from competitor’s? What changes must we make to our offerings to strengthen our competitive position? Avoid trap of investing too heavily in points of differences that are easily copied
- 19. Product Positioning versusCopy Positioning Positioning often associated with communication mix, notably advertising, promotion, PR Copy Positioning—use of advertising to create images and associations for broadly similar branded products to sharpen distinctions in customer's mind Growing number of firms engage in co-branding Positioning guides firm to marketing strategy development
- 20. “A Passion Forthe Business of Accounting” at Grant Thornton “Highest Performance Among Audit Firms Serving Companies with up to $12 billion in Annual Revenue” award Links passion for accounting to high client satisfaction with its auditing services “Find out how it feels to work with people who love what they do!”Source: Grant Thornton, LLP.
- 21. Slogans Used byCompanies “Relax, It’s FedEx” FedEx Ground “We never stop working for you” Verizon “Shopping online beats standing in line” Lands’ End “Invest with confidence” T. Rowe Price
- 22. Positioning as aDiagnostic Tool Positioning links market analysis and competitive analysis to internal corporate analysis. What is our service concept, what do we want it to become, and what actions we must take to get there? Understand relationships between products and markets Compare to competition on specific attributes Evaluate product’s ability to meet consumer needs/expectations Predict demand at specific prices/performance levels
- 23. Positioning as aDiagnostic Tool Identify market opportunities Introduce new products Redesign existing products Eliminate non-performing products Make marketing mix decisions, respond to competition Distribution/service delivery Pricing Communication
- 24. Role of Positioningin Marketing Strategy Positioning links market analysis and competitive analysis to internal corporate analysis Positioning strategy can take place at different levels Multi-site, multi-product business: Position may be established for entire organization, given service outlet or specific service outlet Help prospective customers get mental “fix” on what to expect Failure to select desired position in marketplace and develop a marketing action plan to hold this position may result in: Head-on competition from a stronger competitor Being pushed into a position that nobody else wants Organization’s position being so blurred that nobody knows what its distinctive competence really is
- 25. Developing a MarketPositioning Strategy Source: Developed from an earlier schematic by Michael R. Pearce - Size - Composition - Location - Trends Marketing Action Plan MARKET ANALYSIS INTERNAL ANALYSIS - Resources - Reputation - Constraints - Values COMPETITOR ANALYSIS - Strengths - Weaknesses - Current Positioning Define, Analyze Market Segments Select Target Segments To Serve Articulate Desired Position in Market Select Benefits to Emphasize to Customers Analyze Possibilities for Differentiation
- 26. Anticipating Competitive Response Competitors might pursue same market position Get inside competitors’ heads—conduct internal corporate analysis for all current/potential challengers to get sense of how they might act Analyze possible effects of alternative competitive moves Impact of price cut on demand, market share, and profits Responses of different segments to changes in service attributes
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- 28. Using Positioning Mapsto Plot Competitive Strategy Useful way to represent consumer perceptions of alternative products in visual format Typically confined to two attributes, but 3-D models can be used to portray positions on three attributes simultaneously Information about a product can be obtained from market data, derived from ratings by representative consumers, or both. If consumer perceptions of service characteristics differ sharply from "reality" as defined by management, then marketing efforts may be needed to change these perceptions Also known as perceptual maps
- 29. Positioning of Hotelsin Belleville: Price versus Service Level Expensive Shangri-La High Service Moderate Service Grand Regency Sheraton Italia Castle Alexander IV Airport Plaza PALACE Atlantic Less Expensive
- 30. Positioning Maps Help Managersto Visualize Strategy Positioning maps display relative performance of competing firms on key attributes Research provides inputs to development of positioning maps— challenge is to ensure that Attributes employed in maps are important to target segments Performance of individual firms on each attribute accurately reflects perceptions of customers in target segments Predictions can be made of how positions may change in light of future developments Simple graphic representations are often easier for managers to grasp than tables of data or paragraphs of prose Charts and maps can facilitate “visual awakening” to threats and opportunities, suggest alternative strategic directions
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- 32. Repositioning Positions evolvein response to changing market structures, technology, competitive activity, and the nature of firm itself Firm may have to make significant change in existing position Revising service characteristics; redefining target market segments; abandoning certain products; withdrawing from certain market segments Improving negative brand perceptions may require extensive redesign of core product Weaknesses may be perceptual rather than real—for example: Long Island Trust Repositioning introduces new dimensions into positioning equation that other firms cannot immediately match
- 33. Summary Focus strategieshelp companies be more competitive The four different focus strategies for services are: Service Focussed, Unfocused, Fully Focussed and Market Focussed It is important to know how customers make choices between competitive service offerings and equally important to know their determinant attributes, that actually determine the buyers choice Competitive positioning establishes a position in the minds of customers, with a simple consistent message, setting it apart from competitors in a way that focuses it’s efforts Positioning Maps are powerful visual representations of competitive positioning.